Year of the Nothlit
by Sera
Summary: Tenth and final chapter uploaded. The Animorphs reconcile.
1. Beginnings Of A New Life

Year of the Nothlit  
by Sera  
  
Author's Note:  
This is the sequel to my first Animorphs fic, Can't Turn Back. (Although it's not so much about the Animorphs as about Ax, who is by far my favourite character. If you don't like him, then this story is not for you.) The background story is the same up until book 45. This story starts where the original left off, with Ax trapped in human morph and living with Erek the Chee. I recommend you read "Can't Turn Back" first, as things will make more sense that way. If not, hey, *shrugs* have it your way. Onwards!  
  
Chapter One ~ Beginnings Of A New Life  
  
The alarm clock rang shrilly at precisely eight o' clock. It was a Tuesday morning. The sun was shining, illuminating and warming the manicured lawns of this typical suburban district. The birds congregated on the telephone cables chirruped cheerfully. However, inside one particular house (which happens to be one of the focal points for this story) all was not tranquil.  
  
In the bed, a teenaged boy turned over and buried his face in the pillow. His black hair was tousled untidily around his head, and his long legs curled up as he pulled the blankets tighter around him. On the floor beside the nighttable, another boy pulled himself into a sitting position. The boy in the bed raised his head enough to growl at his companion before flopping back down onto the mattress.  
  
"Erek, turn the damn thing off."  
  
The boy called Erek snorted condescendingly. "Ax, if you're going to live here, you've got to do things yourself. I'm not going to wait on you hand and foot."  
  
Ax turned over and propped himself onto an elbow, slightly more awake now. "Yeah? Like you haven't done that sort of thing before. I recall you telling me that you were one of Cleopatra's personal slaves!"  
  
Erek smiled. "That was only for a short time. I displeased her, so she had me consigned to building the pyramids. So, are you turning it off?"  
  
Throughout their dialogue, the clock had been insistently drilling its monotonous tone into their heads. Ax reached out and lifted it off the table. He pressed a button on the back. The ringing grew louder. Ax pressed it again, only to be rewarded by the whine becoming ear-splitting. Frustrated, he hurled the object across the room. It struck the door and rebounded, its back cover flipping open and a couple of springs falling out. The shrieking alarm died abruptly.   
  
"Thank you." muttered Erek, shaking his head. "But couldn't you have found a gentler way of doing that? My dad will go ballistic if it's broken. That must be the fourth one I've had."  
  
Ax swung his legs over the edge of the bed and headed for the bathroom. "I'll fix it later, promise."  
  
As he got dressed, he pondered his new form. How long had it been? He'd been trapped at 3.30 the previous day. Less than 17 hours. (Is that right? I'm the person who once told my maths teacher that 2 plus 2 equaled 2. ;] --Sera) Already he was forgetting what it was to be Andalite. He'd broken the fascination with mouth-sounds since the intensive training in preparation for the day at school. The food addiction was harder, but he was resigned to the fact that if he was going to be eating human food for the rest of his life (what with the war against the Yeerks, his chances of reaching twenty looked bleak) he'd probably get used to taste pretty quickly.  
  
When he returned to the bedroom, Erek was making his bed. Without looking up or pausing in the methodical folding and tucking, he warned, "First day only. Besides, we're late. This afternoon we're going shopping for some of your stuff, okay?" Ax nodded. Erek continued, "You know the way to your school, right? You get back before me, so I'll give you a key, you can let yourself in, and… what's this?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Erek offered it to him. It seemed he'd found it when moving the pillows. It was, without a doubt, the necklace from the dream. The tooth had mercifully stopped glowing, but Ax still looked at the milky surface and suppressed a shudder.  
  
"That's mine," he said. Erek looked confused. "Can I have it back?"  
  
Erek seemed reluctant to let it go, but handed it to Ax. "Are you going to wear it?"  
  
Ax hadn't thought of that. It gave him the creeps, somehow, and his instinct had been to bury it at the bottom of a drawer. But it was from the Ellimist… so it couldn't be evil. Could it?   
  
"Well, why not?" he said out loud. Slipped it over his head and tucked the pendant under his shirt, out of sight. He was wearing one of Erek's shirts with jeans and the khaki jacket which he was becoming rather attached to, and his hair was gelled into spikes again. He wondered if he was going to have to wear his hair in spikes for the rest of his life (again, not that that was likely to be a very long time) and was surprised to discover that he didn't care one way or the other.  
  
Emerging from the chamber and walking into the kitchen, Ax and Erek were greeted by Mr. King. "Good morning Erek, Darren."  
  
"Morning, Dad."  
  
"Morning, Mr. King."  
  
The android 'father' regarded Ax and Erek with serious brown eyes. "You know the plan, right? School as normal. The story is that Darren is staying with us, his father is a friend of mine. Got it?"  
  
They nodded mutely. After breakfast, the three of them left the house. Mr King got into his car, reversed out and was gone in a cloud of exhaust. Erek regarded Ax. "See you later, man."  
  
"Bye."  
  
They walked in step to the end of the driveway, where Erek turned left and Ax turned right. Ax put his hands in his pockets, realising that he had a whole twenty nine minutes until school started (strangely enough, he had retained all his time keeping skills and previous knowledge) and knowing that, just because he was a nothlit, didn't mean he couldn't enjoy himself.  



	2. Tricks Of The Light

Chapter Two ~ Tricks of the Light  
  
The-school-that-the-Animorphs-attend  
9AM  
  
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring!  
  
Ax didn't even twitch a muscle as the school bell sounded. Around him, people were slamming their lockers and hurrying to class. He strolled casually down the corridor, feeling like he owned the place. He was enjoying his newfound reputation as a complete badass. Back home, he hadn't exactly been one of the most attentive students (sleeping in class, not doing homework, et cetera) and the punishments there were nothing like the gentle slap on the wrist that passed for the disciplinary system on Earth. He decided to give The Broad's homeroom a miss and kept walking, not knowing exactly what he was looking for. Passing yet another room, he spotted Jake and Cassie answering roll call. Well, why not?  
  
Cassie's was one of the few heads that turned, disinterested, towards the door when it opened. Her mouth dropped partially in shock and she poked Jake in the shoulder. The teacher was looking scandalised. "Go out again, sonny, and knock before coming in, or don't come in at all!" he barked, moustache wriggling in time to the words.  
  
"Suit yourself," smirked Ax, executing a smart about-face and getting out of the door before it closed completely. One of the teacher's pets, Wesley, stared after him. "Mr Shorthose, sir, he's walking away, sir," he whined nasally. The distraught teacher, Shorthose by name and with a very short temper, followed his gaze and growled under his breath. "Wesley, tell him to come back," he commanded.  
  
The dutiful Wesley fled from his seat to do His Majesty's bidding and scampered out of the still-swinging door. Jake stifled a laugh slouched sideways over the desk, watching the unfolding scene outside out of the corner of his eye. Wesley was skittering after 'Darren' and begging with him. Ax wasn't even pausing in his strides. Wesley was having to trot, like a puppy, to keep up with his long paces.  
  
"What for? I'm not in that class anyway. I just wanted to say hi to one of my friends," Ax was reasoning, in reply to Wesley's pleas of "You gotta come back, Mr Shorthose will be very angry".  
  
"Well, what class are you in?" persisted Wesley, then, cunningly, "Perhaps you're in ninth grade, seeing as you've been held back before."  
  
That got him. Ax stopped and rounded on him, insulted even though he knew it wasn't true. He WAS Darren Smyth now, and being insulted was being insulted. "What the hell do you mean, held back? I'm smarter than you without trying!"  
  
Wesley looked smug. "I really doubt that, Smyth. I heard that you've got quite a reputation for failing examinations, and I," he gestured expansively, "am third in the class."  
  
Ax stepped back and folded his arms, trying hard not to laugh in this creep's face. He settled for sneering from his head-and-shoulders-taller position. "You're on, jerk. I bet you that I'll whip you in every exam this term."  
  
Wesley giggled derisively, a sound that grated on the nerves and made Ax want to deck him. "And what would you bet with? I heard that you're broke, and everything you have is either stolen or given by charity. I also heard that right now you're staying with someone, sponging off their dad."  
  
Gritting his teeth, Ax said, "Every exam. Terms dictated by the winner. No money." Then smiled disconcertingly.  
  
Wesley was taken aback for a few minutes. "You're on," he said. They shook hands, Ax ensuring he put a little too much pressure on the soft points. Wesley winced. Ax laughed, "See ya round, man," and clapped him on the back hard enough to make him stagger. He walked off towards the library without even glancing back, leaving Wesley Williams staring after him in disbelief.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
At break, Jake and Marco found him slouching on a bench, reading a book that had been signed out by a reluctant librarian. They picked sandwiches from the rack and tossed him one. "Darren!" Marco said by way of greeting, "Not going all intellectual on us, are you?"  
  
Ax looked up, "Hey, Jake, Marco." Looking at the book in his hands in mock surprise, he explained, "No, I was just bored."  
  
Jake said in a serious tone that sent Rachel into howls of laughter when recounted later that evening at the barn, "Darren, have you ever considered actually going to class?"  
  
Marco chimed in, "Yeah, I mean you come to school, you might as well learn something while you're here."  
  
Ax laughed easily, surprised at how quickly he was settling into this new scheme of things. Before, Marco was the joker and the clown, while he was the serious one. This reversal of roles came about smoothly, if not naturally. "I guess," he conceded. "Besides, I wouldn't want to lose to that prat Wesley."  
  
While they listened in awe, he detailed his wager. Jake mused, "I have Geography next. Marco?"  
  
"Social Studies," came the reply.  
  
Ax said, "I should go to the classes I know less about, right?"  
  
"Right"  
  
"Well, most of the stuff I can learn out of a textbook, so I should go to something like Social Studies."  
  
Marco grinned sardonically. "You just want all those babes to hit on you again and give you their phone numbers."  
  
Ax deadpanned, "And I just want all those babes to hit on me again and give me their phone numbers, which always mysteriously end up with Marco."  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
"Miss Oakes, this is Darren Smyth. He's new and he'll be joining this class." Marco was introducing Ax to Miss Oakes, who was nodding understandingly. The majority of girls in the class were staring raptly at him, each of them knowing that the desks were arranged in pairs and wishing that they weren't already sitting next to someone.  
  
"Welcome Darren, I hope you enjoy this class, try your best, and don't cause any disruptions like yesterday's," said Miss Oakes. Her eyes twinkled. "Why don't you sit next to…" she looked around the class, pretending not to notice that most of the girls had suddenly sat up straighter, and that Sharon was waving her hand enthusiastically. There wasn't much of a choice, however, seeing as there was only one empty seat. "Sarah."  
  
The aforementioned Sarah looked up. She'd been busy scribbling on something under the desk, and seemed to have no idea what was happening. Marco, who was across the aisle, hissed, "Darren needs to sit next to you."  
  
She nodded in comprehension as Ax slid into the seat. "Hi, I'm Darren Smyth."  
  
The corner of Sarah's mouth quirked up in a smile. "I heard you caused a stampede in here yesterday."  
  
Ax chortled. "Yeah, I guess I did. What with the dramatic entrance and everything!" They laughed together. As Miss Oakes began an opening lecture, Sarah bent her head and returned to her frantic scribbling. Ax looked over her shoulder. "History?"  
  
"Sadly, yes. Thousand-word essay, due in next lesson. Oakes won't mind, though. As long as we get the notes and do the homework, she turns a blind eye to what we do in class."  
  
"I see. How far behind am I?"  
  
"About nine weeks, I think. Do you want to copy my notes?"  
  
Ax nodded. Finally realising that Marco had been making frantic hand signals for the last two minutes, he asked, "Can I have your phone number, too?"  
  
He stored the scrap of paper in his pocket and flashed Marco the thumbs-up, then turned his attention to the lesson.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
"What do you want to go to next?" Marco queried. "PE?" Seeing the baffled look on Ax's face, he hurriedly explained. "Physical Education. We play sports, do gym, generally muck about and have fun… it's a compulsory lesson, so no dodging out on this. Come on! You'll enjoy yourself!"  
  
Ax decided not to point out that he'd only just learned the art of standing on two shaky legs, and was in no hurry to test his balance. Compulsory… the tail-fighting lessons back on the home world seemed like eons ago. Out loud he said, "There's always dodging out. I cut class as easily as I breathe."  
  
Wesley, passing by, overheard this remark and added his two cents' worth (not that I would have paid two cents for his opinion) "Smyth, the way you smoke I wouldn't be at all surprised if you had asthma or emphysema or anything horrendous like that."  
  
Ax retaliated, "So I cut class more easily than I breathe. What would you know about it, Shorthose-worshipper, you probably spend every evening studying. I bet the only thing stopping you from coming to your darling school would be a case of Ebola." He beckoned him closer. "Between you and me, buddy-boy, have you ever gone out with a girl? Your mother excepted, of course."  
  
He was answered by the other boy's cheeks flushing red, before answering, defiantly, "Of course! There's been… Fiona… and Cindy… "  
  
Ax laughed derisively. "Let me guess, Fiona is your sister and Cindy is a plastic doll." He turned his back on him. "Marco, what were you saying before we were so rudely interrupted?" That was an old, old trick; even the Andalites used it. However, it worked. Wesley sunk his head lower and scuttled off.  
  
Marco said, "Well, come to PE anyway. We could use someone your height on the basketball team." He couldn't help what came next. Glancing in the direction of Wesley's retreating back, he stated, "That was cruel, Darren. He's nearly crying."  
  
Ax's face hardened. "More fool him. Look, Marco. I move around a lot. Every new school I'm in, I've learned that you either stand up for yourself or get pushed around. If they know that from the beginning, people won't mess with me and I'll have less trouble."  
  
Worry set in. Marco glanced around to make sure there was nobody within earshot, and in a harsh whisper said, "Ax, aren't you getting a little carried away with this? Chapman and Visser Three are convinced. You could soften a little, be yourself more. How can you want to keep this masquerade up forever?"  
  
He thought he saw a flash of hurt in Ax's steely grey eyes, and fought down a feeling of disquiet. Since when had Ax's eyes been grey? But then the pupils contracted as the iris darkened to opaque black. Unreadable. Marco shook his head to clear his vision. It must have been a trick of the light.  
  
"What makes you think this *isn't* the real me? How do you know I haven't always been this way, acted like this on the home world?" Ax demanded scathingly. He was not bothering to keep his voice low. Marco started and wildly gazed around him, but the corridor remained blessedly empty. "But… when you came… when we met you… I thought we *knew* you, Ax," he persisted. "We fought wars together."  
  
Ax's face was an unpenetrable mask. "Well," he snarled sarcastically, "it looks like you don't know me quite as well as you thought you did, Oh Wise Marco." There was a pause, then in a lighter voice, as if nothing had happened, he continued, "Now, are we going to PE, or are we skiving?"  
  
Marco jerked out of his reverie; his trance of surprise and horrified contemplation broken. "Um… let's go!" he ventured, mind in turmoil. Why had Ax changed so much? Had being trapped in morph affected him more deeply than they'd thought? Tobias was stable and possibly happier than he'd been before becoming a nothlit. He took a deep, calming breath as they walked in uneasy silence. Another. If he didn't, he was apt to go into hysterical laughter, insane raving, or both. There would be a barn meeting that afternoon. He'd have to talk to Cassie then. In the meantime, though… he shook his head again, to clear the cobwebs of thought, to banish the multitude of questions, and followed Ax towards the sports hall.  
  
Sera says:  
Any ideas, suggestions, nitpicks, heck, even flames! All welcome. If you have something interesting to say and a normal enough name you may earn yourself a guest spot in upcoming chapters! 


	3. Trials and Treacheries

Chapter Three ~ Trials and Treacheries 

Chapter Three ~ Trials and Treacheries 

Marco shook his head again, to clear the cobwebs of thought, to banish the multitude of questions, and followed Ax towards the sports hall.

The teacher currently present was, much to Ax's relief, not the previously encountered "burly athletics instructor" but a wiry, energetic twentysomething with unruly red hair who introduced himself as Cyril.

"All the students call me by my first name," he explained, shaking Ax's hand enthusiastically. "Chapman - the Assistant Principal, have you met him? - keeps bleating about 'protocol and correct respect', but frankly I can't see his side of it. Perhaps for him, but I'm less than five years older than some of my charges, and it feels weird." He talked as quickly as he moved, never staying still for more than an instant. Releasing Ax's hand, he stepped back and took a good look at him. "I like the look of you, Darren. You're tall, and you look like you could shoot… I don't suppose you'd be interested in joining the basketball team?"

Ax was nonplussed by this friendly reception. He'd expected tales of his smeared name to have been spread thrice around the school by now, and said as much.

"Sure, I've heard them," chuckled Cyril, "But I never listen to rumour if I can help it. I'm the basketball coach, and that's really all I care for here."

Marco, materialising behind Ax's shoulder in his PE kit, said, "Give it a go, Darren, who knows, you might be some good, eh?" and winked.

Thus pressured, Ax assented, but refused to play on that day, saying that he did not have shorts or trainers. Everyone else was wearing shorts and a white tee shirt in sharp contrast to Ax's denim and khaki. A memory flash came, unbidden; Marco saying, "We stick out like sore thumbs. Actually, do sore thumbs stick out? Have you ever looked at a stuck-out thumb and gone, man, that baby is sore?!" Cyril seemed to accept this as a valid excuse, little guessing that Ax had not heard of basketball up until that minute. Watching the ongoing games, the rules and aims were quickly learned.

Towards the end, Cyril came trotting up to the bench, saying, "I'd like to see you shoot, Darren, to give me an idea of how good or, as Marco alleges, how bad you are."

Ax shrugged and neatly caught the ball that was duly tossed to him. He attempted to dribble closer to the hoop, and found, with a fierce rush of joy, that he could do this, at least. Reaching the line, he straightened and stopped the bouncing ball. He reminded himself that no-one was expecting him to be a superstar, only to get the ball within five metres of the hoop and not to disgrace himself. He raised his hands, vividly picturing and half wishing for the orange sphere sailing through the black circle. An unexpected spike of heat surged from his neck and shoulders to his arms. Human adrenaline, he thought, wondering what other surprises his new form had in store for him. With a deft flick of his wrists, he sent the ball soaring in a neat arc towards the target, where it dropped through the netting without touching the rim or backboard.

Marco's jaw dropped. Ax motioned for him to stop gawking like he'd seen an alien shoot a perfect three-pointer swoosh - which, of course, he just had. Cyril, not noticing Marco's reaction, nodded approvingly at Ax. "Great," he grinned contentedly. "If you shoot like that all the time, I'll have you on the team so fast you'll leave your boots behind." He blew his whistle as the signal to pack away.

Ax turned to Marco, unaware of the bustle around him as sweaty boys and girls rushed for the showers. The look on the latter's face showed quite plainly that he equally had no idea how that had just happened.

* * * * * * *

Ax stomped down the driveway leading to Erek's house. He was not in a good mood. Jake had not believed in his spectacular talent at basketball, even though Ax argued (in a whisper) that he was carrying Jake's genes and therefore his talent too. Jake was slightly mollified by this indirect compliment, but Marco was asserting that it was a fluke. Ax had lost his temper completely, saying that Marco and Jake were both jealous as neither of them had gotten into the team, while he had on his first try. After the row, Ax had simply walked out of the school gates in a fury. Nobody had tried to stop him.

He shook his head, bringing himself back to reality, and inserted the key into the lock (granted, it took him a couple of tries to get it the right way up) and twisted.

Nothing happened.

He tried again, rattling the doorknob, but the key refused to budge. He tried turning it the other way, still nothing. In desperation, he gave the key one almighty wrench to the left.

And stared stupidly at the stub of the key he held in his hand, then glared at the doorknob with the broken-off key protruding from its slot. Oh man, Mr King's really gonna kill me now, he thought. To cap it all off, it was dark clouds were drifting ominously overhead. He felt the first fat drops dive from the sky and splatter against his jacket. And could come up with only one word to summarize the situation.

"Fuck."

He sat miserably on the doorstep for a couple of minutes with his head between his legs, then roused himself from his stupor of self-pity and sprinted off in search of Erek's school as the skies opened.

* * * * * * * *

Ax was getting very used to the commotion he caused with his sudden appearances. This time he was racing up the stairs leading to the classrooms at Erek's school. He was not so much dripping as having water flowing in rivers down his back. Girls and boys alike stared (and they were very much dry) as he blazed past, scattering out of his way before he could pass his state of wet to them. 

In the bathroom, after having relieved himself, he checked his hair in the mirror. Damn, the gel was washing out! (And his hair was doing a very convincing impression of a drowned hedgehog) He sighed and slicked it back, hoping that there weren't security guards on campus who would throw him off if they caught sight of him in this condition.

He decided against barging into every class and demanding to know if Erek was there, so he parked himself in the canteen and sullenly watched the rain bucketing down.

He must have sat for over an hour before seeing any signs of life. A bell rang, followed by students changing classes. Doors opened and slammed, there was a general reshuffle, then all subsided into quiet once more. Ax put his head in his arms and tried to go to sleep.

Later, the final bell woke him from a confused dream of melon seeds bouncing all over a shiny wooden floor. Erek was one of the last to clear out from the classrooms, and when he neared the gate he was confronted by a very impatient Ax.

Ax sneered (but softly), "Yes, Erek, glad you could make it sometime this week. Maybe you're waterproof, but I'm not, and I would very much like to go back to your place soonish."

Erek stopped in his tracks, confused. "What are you talking about? I gave you my key. And while we're at, why are you here?"

"Well, I had a little, um, accident with the key shall we say. And I need you to do your thing," he made a gesture with one hand, "and open the door."

"Thing?" 

Ax waved his hands intolerantly. "Thing. Where you turn your finger into a skeleton key and get the door open. Or alternatively you could shoot the lock."

As he said this, he whirled on his heel and made for the exit. Erek stopped him with a hand on his arm before he got two steps away.

He turned to see concerned brown eyes. "Darren, are you okay?" Erek queried. "You don't seem well."

"Well? Fine for you, expecting me to be well when I've been waiting in the wet for two hours." He made a fake, self-pitying sniff. "Who knows, I might catch a cold."

Erek ignored the snideness and said reasonably, "Then let's get going."

* * * * * * * 

7PM

"Where do you think you're going, young man?"

Ax paused with his hand on the front door handle (which had been repaired) and craned his neck to look at the android Mr. King. The tone of voice was so similar to his own father's that he had to think before he placed himself on Earth, trapped in a human shell.

"Out."

"I don't recall giving you permission to go out."

Ax mouthed, "Is he always like this?" at Erek, who grinned in response. Typical suburban family. Yep, they were just like everyone else in America, and Hitler was the guy who had dedicated his lifetime to caring for the Jews' welfare. Aloud he said, "Mr King, may I please go out? I promise to be back by… whenever."

Mr King pronounced, "Nine o' clock," before turning back to his newspaper. Ax humbly exited the house and started off for Cassie's barn.

* * * * * * * 

7.18 PM

When Ax reached the barn, the sun had already set. It was quiet, as usual, and he didn't expect anyone except Cassie to be there. The meeting wasn't scheduled until 7.30.

Which is why he received a rather nasty shock (which is a very mildly English way of putting it) when he opened the door and walked in and four astonished people, sitting in a tight circle (or perhaps it should be square) jumped and turned towards him with guilty faces, and one unsuspecting red-tailed hawk nearly fell off its rafter.

Cassie was the first to recover. "Ax!" she exclaimed, budging over and patting the newly-created space between herself and Rachel, "You're early. Come and sit down." She was smiling pleasantly enough, but Ax could see something behind her eyes that he didn't like. He still wasn't a master of interpreting "human facial expressions" but it seemed to him as if Cassie was hiding something.

He took his place in the circle. Tobias came fluttering down to settle on his shoulder, talons digging painlessly into the padding of the khaki jacket (yes, he's still wearing it!) The six of them simply stared at one another as if addressing complete strangers, before Ax shook them out of the communal reverie. 

"Yeah, I'm a bit early. But you guys all seem to be even earlier, so I guess that doesn't matter." He scanned their ashamed countenance and averted eyes. "Or I guess it does, since I interrupted your confidential discussion about me."

Marco started slightly, and when Ax tried to meet his gaze, suddenly became fascinated in a spotted deer calf at a point beyond Ax's left shoulder. Rachel spoke up, "Ax, before we start, you know we would never do anything to hurt you, right? We're your friends, and the reason we're doing this is because we care for you."

Ax choked down an inexplicable spike of ire and said, "Yes."

Jake chimed in. "Ax, we've noticed that you've been acting... oddly since the change. We wondered why, and whether we could do anything to help."

Shortly, "No, nothing. I'm fine."

Jake said slowly, "You don't need anything?"

Before Ax could reply, Rachel cut in, "Clothes! You need clothes! Tell you what, tomorrow we'll go shopping! I'll meet you at the mall at, oh, five. Okay?" Before Ax had a chance to reply, Cassie was agreeing. Rachel nodded contentedly and departed.

Marco said, "Hey, Jake, how's about tomorrow, you, me and Darren will go shoot some hoops? Say right after school?" He too, nodded smartly and left.

There was a pregnant pause. Ax continued, "Are we done?"

Jake said, "So those are your plans for tomorrow. Kay?"

Tobias, who up until then had remained silent, said privately to Ax, Ax-man, I'd like to talk to you. I'll meet you outside. He took off again and swooped out through an open window.

Ax stood up, furious. _Who are they to decide what I'm doing after school?_ he thought, enraged. _I know they just want to keep an eye on me, they think I've turned insane since I became a _nothlit_, they think I can't handle it! I'll show them…_ His tumultuous emotions burned with a white-hot heat, a rage so intense that it was some time before he noticed that something had burned him.

He looked down. The pendant he was wearing, the shark's tooth, was glowing fiercely, and scorching the area around it. He touched it gingerly; it was cooling very quickly, and there was no sign that a few seconds ago it had been hot enough to sear an ellipse of red, shiny skin where it touched. He was about to tuck it into his shirt again when Cassie noticed it.

"What's that?" she inquired innocently. He hesitated before replying, "A necklace."

"Ooh, it's nice," she gushed, oozing insincerity but showing a great amount of interest, requesting to have a closer look at it.

He gave it to her, reluctantly slipping the loop over his head and depositing it in her outstretched palm. Jake, who had been leaning against the stacked bales with one hand over his eyes, was sitting up and edging closer.

Cassie examined the pendant. "It's warm. Where did you get this?"

Ax was very irritated and wasn't afraid to show it. "Someone gave it to me, and it's warm because I've been wearing it all day," he snapped. Cassie looked taken aback at his abrupt manner. Ax held his hand out. A bit shaken, she gave it to him, then forlornly watched him storm out of the barn. Ax had always been so polite until then, but only Jake and Marco had really witnessed his bizarre behaviour at school. Something was very wrong here, but what really scared her was that, with all her skills of character assessment, after knowing and manipulating Visser Three and David, she couldn't figure out what was so very wrong with Ax.

* * * * * * *

Ax was fairly growling by the time he reached the back of the barn, facing the forest. He practiced lashing out with his fists, swinging roundhouse punches in the cool night air, and almost kayoed Tobias who stepped out of the shadows in human morph.

"Whoa!" Tobias yelled, catching one of the flying fists. "Calm down, Ax-man."

Ax stopped and regarded his _shorm_ with icy grey eyes. Tobias wondered why, in all the times he had seen Ax in human morph before, he had never noticed that his eyes were grey. But the first time, he distinctly remembered them being brown… he ignored his feelings of unease and took a step closer.

"Ax-man, what's wrong?" he asked softly of Ax, who was now staring determinedly at the laces of his shoes. "You can tell me. We're family, remember?"

Ax jerked his head up. "Family? We aren't even the same species, Tobias. How could we possibly be related?" he laughed, a mirthless sound that raised the bumps on Tobias's skin.

"Because of the morphing. That's what makes us special, we can morph. There are only six of us that can. And we've got to help each other out, sort out our problems, so we can fight a war and defeat the Yeerks."

Ax flared. "Fight a war? Tobias, look at me. I'm stuck in this … this… ineffectual, weak, pathetic, mockery of a body!" he yelled. "How the fuck can I fight? If I had my tail, sure! I'd chop those Yeerks down faster than they throw them at me! But now?! What do you want me to do, swear at them?" He stopped, breathing hard, hands curling and uncurling swiftly.

Tobias persevered. "Do you remember that vow we made? That we'd always fight the Yeerks, no matter how badly off we were? That we'd help each other, and stick together, and do the best we could? **Always**?" When there was no answer, he reached out and shook Ax gently by the shoulders. "Remember?"

Ax erupted. He spun away from Tobias, wrenching himself out of his grip, and retaliated with a punch, that when it connected, echoed more like a slap through the dark tree trunks. Tobias reeled. Ax snarled, "Don't touch me!"

They stood there, two metres apart, facing each other. Ax looked at himself, and brushed off his shoulders, as if revulsed by Tobias's touch. Then, carefully, in a tone calculated to hurt, he said, "Yes. Of course I remember. We were young then. And fools. I've gotten older. I've learned that I can't even look after myself, let alone other people. I thought you'd have figured it out for yourself, but I guess you're still a fool."

Tobias could only watch, his jaw throbbing and his heart aching, as Ax's back vanished into the oppressive darkness.

* * * * * * *

Cassie said, "What happened?"

Tobias: "I was careless. We were walking and talking, and I tripped and fell."

Cassie said astutely, "Did you guys have an argument? I heard shouting."

Tobias's heart skipped a beat before he quickly smoothed it over by saying, "No, no. I must have knocked myself out for a while when I fell, and Ax kinda freaked, I think."

Cassie accepted this without question, but in her own mind she doubted the story. She was no fool, that girl.

There was a pause while Tobias tried to think of something else to say. "You were right that Ax is acting a bit strange. Now I know what Jake and Marco meant. He seems really bitter."

"Even angry," Cassie added.

"It's like he suddenly hates the world and every person around him. It's not like him to be spiteful."

"No, it isn't," she concurred.

"Do you feel anything from him?" Tobias asked, lightly teasing now. "You know, the great Mystic Cassie who can read people like books?"

Cassie didn't smile. She shuddered when she recalled the expressions on Ax's face throughout the short congregation in the barn. Ax wasn't experienced enough to prevent his feelings from showing in his face; they came through twice as clear and the intensity of his emotions rocked her to the core. Tobias was frowning now, seriously worried.

He prompted, "What did you feel?"

Cassie said, "Anger."

--End Chapter Three-- 

Disclaimer: Animorphs and all related things belong to K.A. Applegate. Some characters are of my creation but are based on real people, who belong to themselves. I belong to no-one, not even myself, but that has nothing to do with anything.

*rubs hands together* Alright, thanks section! If you reviewed, look out for this section in future because I answer questions and the like.

AniWriter - You're the first reviewer! And what a nice review. Thanks loads for your brilliant idea, which as you have seen, I did use (interaction with the other Animorphs and Tobias especially) but you may have noticed that it didn't do anything about the "slightly warped personality". That comes later!

Worm1200 - Yes, Ax is ooc, and yes, I did that on purpose. Yes, he does know swears, Rachel and Marco taught him cuss words. There is a reason behind all this, which should become a lot clearer if you read my first story, ;) and keep reading more to come of this story. That goes for everyone else, too! ;)

GinnyWeasley - Of course, the teachers DO think he's a complete imbecile, and how would Ax fare in an exam? Don't forget, he also has that (ahem, foolish) bet that he made with Wesley…


	4. Dreams (Interlude)

Chapter Four ~ Dream On (Interlude)

Chapter Four ~ Dreams (Interlude)

__

It's only me that wants to wrap around your dreams

And have you any dreams you'd like to sell

Dreams of loneliness

Like a heartbeat drives you mad

In the stillness of remembering what you had

And what you lost...

--The Corrs, "Dreams"

* * * * * * *

__

Tobias prompted, "What did you feel?"

Cassie said, "Anger."

* * * * * * *

Cassie rolled over in bed, having awoken from a nightmare of ostriches chasing her around the Yeerk Pool. She tried to remember it, but all she could recall was that the ostriches had been shouting, "We love the Yeerks! You must become us! When the flying shark arrives we will take you on board and feed you chocolate and toast!"

__

Anger. The thought came unbidden to her mind. _It all comes down to anger. Why does Visser Three want to kill us? Because he hates us. Anger leads to hate, and hate leads to the Dark Side._

So why, then, is Ax so angry? Why?

She sat up and fumbled for her clock. The luminous numbers read 01:58. She hunkered back down into the bed and tried to fall asleep. 

So much anger…

She remembered the necklace that Ax had been wearing, that he'd been oddly possessive of. Since when did Ax get possessive? Maybe that was another sign of the way in which he was changing. Why, why why why, was he so angry?

As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered if she should tell the others about the necklace. Jake knew, of course, and… She stopped debating as sleep overwhelmed her, and she sank back into blackness.

* * * * * * *

Jake sat up, gasping for breath. Relief flooded him as he realised that Tom's, and his, drowning was a nightmare, and that he was in his own room. The clock on his bedside table showed one minute past two, but as it was not a glow-in-the-dark type, and as he was not bothered to turn on the lights, he didn't know that. 

As he was about to fall asleep again, he had a sudden vision of a milky white tooth. Yes, a tooth from the shark that had been pulling him down to drown, in his dream. _What's so special about that?_ Was his last thought before he fell asleep once more.

* * * * * * *

Rachel got out of bed, checked the clock (it was four past two) and got herself a drink of water. She'd been having a nightmare, probably shouting out loud (she hoped it wasn't "maggots" again) and woken up thirsty. So here she was. She didn't pay a single thought to Ax, or anything else, as she staggered back to bed.

* * * * * * *

An alarm beeped. Marco reached out, switched it off (still half asleep) then stared at the screen in disbelief. 2.07 in the morning. Damn, must have set it wrongly.

He rolled over and tried to get back to his dream. He could remember it clearly. It had been about a gorgeous girl in school, who was unfortunately a year above him and therefore way out of his league. (Oh, yes, did I mention she was probably a foot taller than him?) But in the dream, she'd asked him out, and she had started kissing him when they went to a movie. 

Within minutes he was snoring again, but somehow the dream had been warped, and now the anonymous girl was smiling at him, and her gaping maw was filled with layers of barbed fangs. Then he head had started bulging out, morphing swiftly into the head of a hammerhead shark.

Marco woke again, sweating, but when he finally fell asleep in the aftermath of his nightmare, he slept soundly until his dad woke him up for school the next morning, and he did not remember his dream at all.

* * * * * * *

Tobias shifted on his perch in the large elm tree. The bark was rough and knobbly, and very easy to hang onto while he slept. He didn't want to fall off in the middle of the night, which had happened once, before. He had landed in Ax's scoop, and the shocked (and rudely awakened) Andalite had nearly beheaded him before he'd realised what had happened.

The sun had set hours ago, and by all rights he should have been dozing peacefully, to start fresh for another round of hunting the following day. As any other bird would have been doing. (It goes without saying that Tobias is not 'any other bird')

He was being insomniac over Ax problem. Stewing it round in his head, _could we have prevented Ax from getting trapped in morph? Without revealing ourselves, and indirectly handing our roasted heads over to the Yeerks on a pewter platter? _He knew the answer was no._ So perhaps we should not have let him go to school in the first place. But he's our friend. We wanted him to be happy. _

__

How does Jake feel? He's the leader; he could have overruled us all (but it's not his fault). Or at least Ax. If Jake had said, "No, Ax, you can't go, and that's that" (but it's not his fault) He could have! 

Yes, then Ax would have bowed his head, said, "Yes, Prince Jake," and continued being miserable. Is that any better than the current situation?

With that question remaining unanswered, Tobias slept.

* * * * * * *

(Tobias's POV)

I was in a room, all alone. Alone? No, there was something in a corner, something large and awe-inspiring. I took a step closer, and realised that I was in human morph. _Strange,_ I pondered. What is the meaning of this dream?

I stopped when I reached the centre of the room. Partly because I thought the centre would be a good tactical place to watch everything from, but mostly because I had the sudden unsettling feeling that someone, or someTHING, was behind me. I turned as slowly as I could, trying with all my might to keep one eye on the being in the opposite corner. Oh, for the hawk's peripheral vision right now…

The Big Red Eye glared at me with a vengeance. //One of the Animorphs.// whispered a throaty deep voice in my head. //Why have you brought it here?//

The question was not addressed to me, but to the shadowy deity in the other corner. The room spun briefly, then settled for a circular shape. I staggered backwards and braced my back against one of the curved walls. We were now in a triangle, Crayak, myself, and who I guessed was the Ellimist.

CORRECT INDEED, TOBIAS, laughed the Ellimist. VERY ASTUTE.

"Astute my ass," I said out loud, and turned back to Crayak. He, too, was laughing.

//This one has spirit// he chuckled. //Although I doubt there are enough brains to solve his problem//

The Ellimist, who had reappeared as the little old man, looked uncomfortable. Tobias is here because this matter concerns him. You were not meant to interfere, Crayak, he thought-spoke. The matter was between myself and the child. The forms…

"What child?" I interrupted. To hell with courtesy. I could wake up any moment. There was no time for idle chit-chat.

//…must be obeyed.// agreed Crayak. //Always, the forms rule.//

You have overstepped the line by altering the charm on my gift to the child scolded the Ellimist. He continued, completely ignoring my question. It was a private matter. You pre-empted my move and intercepted the talisman

Crayak sneered, as much as an eye can be said to sneer. //Ever the fool, Ellimist. You cannot stop me.// His bloodred eye swiveled towards me. I looked into the globe, radiating malice, and saw currents of vermilion swirling within it. Addressing me directly, he said, //The fool Ellimist has brought you here in the hope that you will save your friend. You will not succeed.//

The Ellimist said, You disobeyed the forms.

//I did no such thing. The magic on that amulet was in place long before you stole it from me. Do not forget that it was my property first.//

The Ellimist was beginning to comprehend his oversight. You read the time-line and imprinted the charm with your own spell

A sickening, triumphant laugh. //The sorcery is bonded to the physical. The spell cannot be reversed without destroying the object itself. This cannot now happen, as I have ensured its protection from all whose intent is to such a purpose. You have lost, Ellimist.//

The old man wavered, uncertain. I must think on this, he said, and vanished.

I was left alone with Crayak and a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach as I began to realise the extent of Crayak's 'interference'. "You did something, to my friend…" I knew all too well which friend.

//Mortal, you don't even begin to understand. Your friend feels anger, for a number of different reasons that are, in fact, valid. His anger makes him vulnerable. When he is at his weakest, I will strike a bargain with him that he will not be able to refuse; I will not allow it. And then…// he paused for suspense, enjoying the effect his words were having on me, //I will take him. He will belong to me, and he will do what I choose, if I will it. He will be my willing servant for the rest of eternity.//

"No," I spat. "Never. We will find a way to stop you."

A basso laugh was my only answer. Then the dream room was swirling into inky blackness, and I felt myself falling...

--End Chapter Four-- 

You'dNeverGuess - He would ace everything, but don't forget that all the teachers think he's a moron. If he suddenly goes all smart, he might blow his cover. And nice guess, you've probably seen that you were more or less right.

Super Hurricane - Yes, that is what I'm saying. Thank you.


	5. Strike One

This chapter is dedicated to **Portalkeeper87**, who reminded me that I had a story to finish.

============================================

Thursday, 9AM, school

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring!

"Hey, Darren!"

"Yo, Smyth, how ya doin?"

Ax waved at the students who greeted his entrance through the school archway. He made a beeline for his classroom.

Somewhere else, Jake and Marco were talking in low voices.

"Someone's got to get it off him. Tobias said…"

"I know what Tobias said, for God's sake!" Marco hissed. "I was there, remember? I'm not stupid. But I'm still not convinced Tobias is right. Ellimist didn't say what the gift was, or who the child is. We could be barking up a tree in the wrong country."

Jake reasoned, "Crayak referred to Tobias's friend as a 'he'. That's only me, you, or Ax. Or maybe Erek, though I doubt that. And _who's_ been acting strange since he was trapped in morph?"

"Exactly!" Marco hissed. "Trapped in morph. Maybe he's still mucked up over that. Can't say I blame him."

"But is it you? Did the Ellimist give you anything? I know it's not me. And Erek would have told us if he's gotten presents."

Marco grumbled assent.

They didn't hear from Ax until lunchtime, where he tipped a plate of food over another boy's head.

* * * * * * *

"Break it up!" a teacher yelled. 

Jake wheeled around from his place in the line. He could see Ax, at the other end of the canteen, facing off with one of the players in the rugby team. He must have been twice Ax's width, and topped his height by at least three inches. Ax was not intimidated.

"He started it!" Jake heard the boy say. He saw Rachel edging towards the pair.

Ax shouted back, "He called me a liar!"

"He is!" bellowed the jock. "He said he didn't get kicked out of his last school for cheating, but I saw it on his record!"

Ax lunged. The larger boy, surprised, went down, then lashed out. His fist caught Ax on the cheek, and split the skin. But Ax didn't get a punch in before the teachers pulled them apart. As the boy stalked off with his mates, Rachel heard them mutter, "That Darren sure has a temper."

Rachel walked him out of the canteen. He strode along, answering in monosyllables. She said lightly, "Are you alright?"

"Yes."

"Do you want me to fix your cut?"

"No."

"What have you got next, Social Studies?"

"Yes."

There was a short silence. Acting as if she'd just noticed, she said, "That's a nice necklace. Can I see?"

That got a reaction. Ax turned away from her, and pulled up the collar of his jacket. He said, "No."

"Where did you get it? Who gave it to you?"

"Mind your own business."

As they reached the school building, Rachel went to find Cassie, more worried than ever.

* * * * * * *

Marco also tried to get the necklace off Ax, with no success. Desperate (there _had_ to be a way. Tobias had said… what had Tobias said?) he tried to get someone who was not involved in Animorphs stuff. That someone was Sarah.

"You want me to what?"

"Ask if you can hold the necklace. Do that girl thing about how pretty it is. Then, drop it on the floor or something. Hopefully it will break." Marco explained.

"But why?"

Marco thought quickly. "It's actually mine. I want it back, but he wont give it. So," he did a dramatic flourish, "If I can't have it, neither can he!"

She regarded him skeptically. "That's rather selfish, don't you think?"

Marco sighed. "How about this. Get it from him, and give it to me. Okay?"

"Well… okay."

Five minutes later…

"Darren, that's really nice. Can I see?" Sarah held out her hand expectantly.

Ax reached behind to unclasp the necklace. Marco didn't breathe. Ax handed it, albeit reluctantly, to Sarah. She studied it intently. That was Marco's cue.

"Hey, what's that? Let's have a look."

As Sarah obediently reached across to pass it to Marco, Ax snatched it from her. "Marco," he said levelly, "If I give it to you, I'll never get it back." He grinned as if it was all a joke. Sarah sat back, not really caring one way or the other, and Marco felt his heart sink.

* * * * * * *

Cassie said, "What did he say?"

Rachel replied, "Yes, no, yes, no, and none of your business. In that order."

"That's succinct. In fact, forget about even trying to decide whether there's something wrong with Ax. Starting fights? Not in this universe."

"There's basketball practice after school, and I think Ax will be there. Cyril wants him on the team. Should I check it out?"

"Be my guest."

* * * * * * *

Rachel did a discreet impression of having a crush on Ax, leaving Cyril laughing and allowing her to watch.

First, drills. In the form of a game, where everyone queued up to shoot. If you missed, you dropped out. If you got it in, you joined the back of the queue and tried again. Last person in was the winner. (We play this at my school.) 

Rachel watched with growing disbelief as Ax flipped his first shot neatly in. And his next. And the next. He had different tactics, sometimes going for a swoosh, and other times bouncing it off the backboard. Soon the only people left were himself and the star shooter, who looked seriously offended with this invasion of his turf. He threw it in.

Ax copied him. He (star shooter, aka James) glared and flicked it again. Ax still didn't miss. People on the sidelines were taking bets, and Cyril was looking very proud of his new recruit.

Finally, James missed. Ax caught the ball as it ricocheted off the backboard. He could feel the energy pounding through him. Turning around with a shrug, he casually lobbed the ball over his shoulder. 

The ball flew in a neat arc, smacked into the rim, bounced up, hit the backboard, bounced up again, and dropped through the hoop.

Ax's teammates went wild. Cyril clapped him on the shoulder and said, "You're on the team. We have a game next week. Can you make it?"

"I'm there."

================================================================


	6. Strike Two

****

Chapter Six ~ Strike Two

Friday morning, at school

Marco said to Ax, "Two words: Math Test."

"Huh?"

"Math test," Marco repeated, enunciating clearly. "You looked at my textbook, right?"

"Oh. Right."

Ax hadn't told anyone about his bet with Wesley. He wondered what he should do.

Marco said, "You'll do fine!" Then, more quietly, "Play it stupid." With a wink, he sauntered off to his class. Ax went into the same class as Wesley. As he passed his desk (right at the front) he snapped his fingers under Wesley's nose to get his attention.

Wesley jerked upright from the book he'd been reading. "Wha…"

Ax said, "Remember the bet?"

Wesley's eyes narrowed. "Darren Smyth. Prepare to be humiliated."

With a, "Whatever." Ax took his seat. The teacher began handing out question papers. For fifteen minutes, Ax worked silently, purposefully making as many mistakes as he thought he could afford without losing to Wesley. He had to win his bet, but he couldn't get a perfect score either. That might reawaken suspicions. Twelve pages later, to his surprise, that was the end of the exam. At least it would give him time to think.

__

Bloody Wesley, he thought viciously. _Him and the lousy bet. I'm risking blowing my cover for this. When I win I'll make him do something really really embarrassing…_ He felt anger boiling up inside him. 

He thought he heard a little voice say, And what about Jake? He shifted his train of thought. _Jake,_ he clenched his jaw. _Always thinking he can control me. Why should he?_

When the teacher signalled the end of the test, he barely noticed. He handed it in mechanically and walked out of the door without looking back.

* * * * * * *

Friday afternoon, in Cassie's barn

Hey, Ax-man, Tobias thought-spoke. Heard you made the basketball team.

"He was great!" Rachel enthused. "He didn't miss a single shot, right, Ax?"

Marco piped up, "If you play like that on Tuesday we can break our losing streak."

Ax muttered, "Thanks."

Jake cleared his throat. "Um, I called this meeting because some things have been slightly … well, I guess weird is the word… lately. There's no nice way to say this. Ax, something's wrong with you."

Ax said incredulously, "What the hell?"

Cassie laid down the facts. "I don't know if you know this, Ax, but you've been estranged since you were trapped in morph. Erek tells us that he found a necklace with a shark's tooth on it, that you said was yours. I see you're wearing it now. We don't know if it has anything to do with your behaviour, but we can find out."

"Yeah?" Ax countered rebelliously. "How?"

"Give us a look. I'm sure if there's something in it, we'll feel the mystic energies or something," put in Rachel, rolling her eyes.

Ax backed up a step or two. "No! It's mine!"

"Ooh, aren't we possessive. We're not going to hurt your baby, promise," Rachel drawled.

"Rach," Jake said warningly.

"No!"

Marco stood up suddenly. "How say, we all pile on Ax, and wrestle it off him?" As he spoke, his skin changed, thickening and turning black. Hair sprouted from his body as his morphing suit also changed colour. Soon, the gorilla lumbered towards Ax.

"You wouldn't touch me," sneered Ax.

Don't push me, replied Marco. You're not you, and until then I'll do whatever it takes.

Ax stared wildly around at the tense circle of his friends. "Are you all going to sit around and watch while he tears me to shreds?" Silence was his answer.

Marco was moving around, blocking the door. Tobias was watching with hawk eyes. Look out! he screeched suddenly, but his warning came too late.

What? asked Marco, a split second before two of Ax's fingers rammed into his left eye. The gorilla howled. Ax used his other hand, stronger than Marco would have believed, and did the other when Marco opened it. Tobias swooped from the rafters, shrieking. Ax swung a fist, faster than Tobias could react. The clenched hands caught him on the wings and smashed him into the wall. 

"Go to hell, all of you," Ax spat, and sprinted out of the barn. No one moved to stop him. They were too busy attending to Tobias and Marco, who was demorphing. 

"That is not Ax," he said, as soon as his mouth formed, serious for a change. "It cannot be."

==============================================

Reader responses:

Ann --- No, for your curiosity I am not English. *suddenly gets all hyper and hysterical* You vill never find out vhich country I am from!! Never!! Not even from my accent vhere I pronounce all my double u's as vees! Bwaahaha! Ookay, back to normal now. That was my strangeness. No, I'm not German either, and real Germans don't have accents like that. Interesting question, though.

AniWriter --- Thanks. You and Portalkeeper87 are the ones that keep me going. Actually, I'm starting to suspect you are the same person with two pen names (??) And by the way, there are a few complex reasons I stopped writing. Exams. School. Homework. Oh, and I went on holiday. Well, whaddaya know? Not that complex reasons. Thanks again!

AnyAmy --- Ooh, wrath. This chapter's for you. I haven't really got any answers to your questions, as I haven't thought about it myself. But I can say no, not (morphing ability! Morphing ability!) sorry. Grey eyes? I just happen to have a certain thing for grey eyes…


	7. Silence (Interlude)

This interlude is for AniWriter, who is a completely different entity from PortalKeeper87.

****

Chapter Seven ~ And The Rest Is Silence (Interlude)

(Ax's thoughts)

A/N: There is general incoherence in this chapter. You have been warned!

Damn them. Damn them all. Who do they think they are, they think they can control me? They don't know me. No one does. Not even Tobias. They pity me, sure, but while they're patting me on the shoulder they're all, _You've been strange lately, and what's that around your neck?_ What business is it of theirs? The Ellimist wanted me to have it, not them. Why should I share it? It's not like they've ever shared anything with me.

And basketball. Just because I have a talent, they get all suspicious and decide that it can't be my own skill, no, Ax is a dumb Andalite who can't throw a ball to save his life. Of course the skill must come from the evil necklace. Have they nothing better to do than to analyse my life, pick it apart? Well, the semblance of a life I have now, anyway. Damn them.

Cassie. She thinks she's a goddess. Just because she can read some people. She thinks she can tell what I'm feeling. How could she know? It's not like she's been through the same things I have. The first sign of something scary, and she scampers like a coward. Which I'm sure she is. I was born to a war, I know what I'm doing!

And Marco, ah, Marco. He thinks I'm harsh?! Has he looked at himself in the mirror lately? A boy who would write off the entire human race for his mother? He doesn't see the big picture. We're all pawns, in one way or another. Like Erek. Millennia old and never thinks for himself. Always blending into the background, being normal.

I'm not normal. Why should I pretend to be?

==========================================

Don't worry, no writer's block. Just school, which is almost as deadly.

Please note I will be starting a mailing list for people who wish to be notified of new chapters, as they are quite rare, and irregular. If you want to be includedin the mailing list, please leave your email address in the review and I'll get back to you. That way you won't have to keep checking ff.net!

The Credits:

sirius --- Quoi?!?! Um, yes, hellooooo, sirius… And if you like Harry Potter I have a couple of HP stories… *g* more two-way advertising.

Meeeeeeeeeee --- Er… okay. Maybe.

AniWriter --- I am thinking of starting a mailing list. If you're interested, give me your email address in your review and I'll put you in it. You may like to know that I'm going on holiday, and so there won't be any chapters for a while. I'll email you when I post new chapters, okay?

Momo Claus --- Hey! I remember you! The Ellimist is not my favourite character either, but no one else has the semi-phenomenal cosmic powers that he has. And no, I will NOT be doing an Aladdin crossover.

silver dragon --- Yes, okay.

AnyAmy --- Yes. Only the most deserving reviewers get chapter dedications. So far only you, Portalkeeper87, and AniWriter are really deserving. No, your threats do not sway me! Ha! *chuckles insanely* But again, the mailing list thing applies.

Keep rocking!!

(I haven't said that for ages…)


	8. Bad Things Come In Threes

****

Chapter Eight ~ Bad Things Come in Threes

The Animorphs didn't see Ax for the next four days. On Tuesday, he pressed a note into Jake's hand while they were in the corridors. All without looking at Jake or even acknowledging his existence.

Jake nonchalantly stowed the folded note in his pocket and took it out again during a particularly boring lesson. Erek's handwriting was nothing special, and what he'd written was cunningly normal.

[Jake, I'm giving this to Darren to give to you, although with his moods at the moment, I don't know whether you'll actually get it. Listen, about Vicky Indriss's birthday? Third November? It's coming up a lot sooner than expected. Can you make it to the basketball court this afternoon? We'll make plans. And bring Marco, I think he's pretty good friends with her too. Cheers, Eric.]

Jake, concerned but still trying to look bored, shredded the note into confetti, and for good measure allowed his fountain pen to leak all over it. That afternoon, he called a meeting.

* * * * * * *

"This can't be good," Cassie observed, shivering as four of them waited on the outskirts of the basketball court, casually tossing the ball between them. "Erek does not indulge whims."

So this is evidently not a whim, commented Tobias, perched high in one of the trees.

Marco said, "Is Ax coming?"

Jake shook his head. "He just refused. I told him, and he said, 'Don't even hope that I'll show up' and blazed off."

Cassie checked her watch. "I wish Erek would hurry up… oh, but I guess it's earlier than I thought."

"If Ax were here and he was his usual arrogant Andalite self, he would throw up his hands in despair and whine, 'Always earlier or later than you thought. How come none of you humans ever says, oh, look, it's exactly what time I thought?'" said Rachel wryly.

Marco let out a short bark of forced laughter. Jake said, "That's not very funny, Rachel."

Tobias interrupted, No, she's right. Only he might not have said, "You humans." If you know what I mean.

Cassie muttered, "No, I guess he wouldn't have."

"Look, there's Erek!" Marco yelped joyfully, and was almost knocked over as he didn't catch the ball Jake heaved at him.

Jake strode over to Erek. "Hey, man."

Erek said in a low voice, "I have two of my people keeping an eye on Ax at home. Something's not right with him."

"You don't say," said Marco, moving up beside Jake.

"And nice to see you too, Erek," Rachel added, smiling perkily.

Erek did not smile. "This is serious, guys."

"You really think so? I mean, Ax is trapped as a human, and he seems to have taken this as a valid excuse to go completely psychotic! It's the necklace, says Tobias, but can we get our hands on the bloody necklace? No! So, what the hell do we do?" Marco, of course.

"Look," Erek said, "It gets worse. Visser Three has, yet again, come up with a grand plan for exterminating the Andalite bandits once and for all."

"And this one would work because…" Rachel prompted.

"Because he's found out about the necklace."

"Huh?"

"It's like this. Crayak's Drode seems to have made a deal with him personally. Find the necklace, and you've found an Andalite bandit."

"So if Ax gets rid of the necklace, he'd be alright."

"Precisely."

Cassie said, "Somehow I don't think he's going to give up that necklace."

Jake looked pensive. Marco and Rachel chorused, "You don't say."

Tobias, who had remained silent until then, remarked, I hate to say this, but it looks like the only way we could wrestle it off him is to kind of… he winced internally, Beat him up and steal it?

"Very classy," countered Marco. "And it should work. Five of us, morph capable? Erek, you could help too. Doing something non-violent like restraining Ax's arms behind his back or something."

"Okay," Erek looked uneasy, though. "When?"

"It seems time is short," Jake put in. "So… tonight, at your house?"

"Yeah."

"Yes," said Cassie.

Okay, thought-spoke Tobias.

"I'm in," said Marco.

Rachel yelled, "Let's do it!" and pumped her fist in the air as the group broke up and headed away, discreetly alone.

* * * * * * *

That evening, Erek, very uncunningly, walked up to Ax and pinned his arms behind his back.

"Wha…" Ax twisted his head around. "The hell you doing, Erek?"

"Restraining you. It's for your own good, you know."

"That's violence!"

"On the contrary. I'm holding. Nothing in volition of any sort of programming."

"Get off!" spat Ax, straining. Obviously, Erek didn't budge a millimetre.

Rachel came in through the front door. "Ax, I'm going to take the necklace."

"Fuck off! It's mine!" yelled Ax, thrashing madly.

Marco, in gorilla morph, lumbered through the open door and pinned Ax's legs. Rachel walked carefully up to him, as one might approach a particularly large snake, and tugged at the necklace.

Nothing happened.

Cassie had a go. There didn't seem to be a clasp, so she tried slipping it over Ax's head. Strangely, it was now too small to fit.

"Having problems?" sneered Ax. "Not surprised."

Jake, in Hork-Bajir morph, tried to cut the string. Nothing happened.

The sorcery is bonded to the physical, Tobias said, remembering. We can't break it if we want to.

"What if we don't want to?" Rachel demanded, tugging futilely on the necklace and wanting to slap Ax for laughing. "I really, really, really don't want to break this. Really. Crayak, you hear? I don't want to break it. It's just an accident that it will come off his neck."

Cassie: "Rach, I don't think that's going to work somehow."

Rachel kicked the wall. "Aargh!"

Calm down, said Jake. Let's call it a night. We'll think of something else eventually.


	9. Eventualities

****

Chapter Nine ~ Eventualities

"Chapman," said Victor Trent. "You know what we are looking for."

"Yes, Visser," said Chapman. Privately, he thought this plan had about as much chance as all the others of succeeding, but he had enough brains not to say so. Kandrona starvation was _painful_, he'd heard from survivors.

"Have you alerted the teenage human-Controllers?"

"Yes, Visser."

"How many are there?"

"Thirty-four, Visser."

"Be on your guard, then."

"Yes, Visser."

* * * * * * *

Wednesday morning, thought Ax. Funny to think last night he was being held prisoner in Erek's house. Unconsciously, he rubbed his knuckles where he'd taken his anger out on Erek. Ouch. Metal is a lot harder than human flesh.

__

If I had my tail blade, I'd take him apart, android or no android.

He had a basketball game after school, he remembered. Cyril was counting on him, as the new star shooter, to be there. _And win the game for them_, he thought wryly.

He started a little as he saw the bald businessman striding down the corridors, looking intently at the necks of the male students who passed. Said male students gave him nothing more than funny looks that plainly said, _You pervert_. Ax felt the necklace heating up. He tucked it into his shirt.

__

Perhaps if I took it off and hid it somewhere… that thought was immediately replaced by a stronger one, _NO! You do not part with it, even for a second._

__

But… the smaller voice was protesting. Ax tried to listen to it, but it was drowned out by a roar in his ears. _You DO NOT part with it. Even if it means you run the risk of being caught._

Ax nodded to himself, the internal decision over. He did, however, prudently duck into an empty classroom as Visser Three walked past, his neck stuck out, scanning all the males' throats. It was, in all, an impression of a starving vampire. Ax felt like telling the Visser how stupid he looked, but he probably shouldn't do that…

__

Fuck should and shouldn't, said the malicious whisper in his head. _Tell the scumbag._

Ax stepped out into the corridor. "You look like a perverted vampire, _Viktor_," he laughed, putting on a Dracula accent. "It kinda goes with your pale complexion. Heard of sun?" he laughed loudly, pushing past before Visser Three could see his necklace.

The Visser scowled deeply, and went on his way. Ax sighed, then remembered the possibility of student Controllers. Thankfully, he was wearing a collared shirt for a change. It might have had something to do with Erek only having collared shirts.

* * * * * * *

The Animorphs had turned out in force to watch the basketball game. Marco was collecting wagers on how many goals Ax would score. Cassie and Jake were holding hands and looking anxious. Rachel had arrived with a blond boy, presumably from another school. (Allison and Brittany checked out her new boyfriend, but seemed to be put off by the way he had almost zero facial expression.)

The game started. Ax scored the first three baskets for his team in rapid succession. Then the other team got going and drew even. James (ex-star shooter) got two. Ax flipped one in from the halfway line, causing the crowd to rise to their feet in cheers.

Ax, down on the court, was concentrating hard. Every shot he threw, no matter how wild, went in. Cyril was ecstatic. The boy never missed! They'd slaughter the other team.

After half time, the home team was leading comfortably with about double the other team's score. Marco was collecting money from people who'd guessed a lower figure than Ax has shot as yet. He looked as though he might be a rich man before the evening was over.

Down on the court, three of the reserves from the other team took it upon themselves to eliminate the problem that Ax presented. They strong-armed him outside, and aimed their punches.

Cassie, who had followed them out, opened her mouth in horror. She couldn't do anything to prevent Ax from being beaten to a pulp. She backed into the shadows and started her wolf morph. Too slowly.

The first fist descended. Ax shouted in pain. Cassie, whose eyes were changing, heard more yells and sounds of punches. Frantic, she tried to speed up the morph. They could kill him…

When she loped out into the small area, only one of Ax's assailants was still standing. She ignored the two writhing on the ground, and leapt for the last. She slammed him into the ground, paw over his mouth so he wouldn't scream.

Ax glared, furious. "Cassie," he began, in a temper now, "I can handle myself."

I'm helping! Geez! Gratitude!

"Bugger off!" Ax stalked up to her, shoved her sideways off the boy, and laid him out cold by banging his head efficiently on the ground.

Cassie was astonished. Strength enough to push a wolf…

Ax… she began.

"Save it," he said curtly. "I have a game to win."

* * * * * * *

Jake was not pleased with the events, to say the least. He helped Cassie drag the unconscious boys to a sheltered room, and somehow passed an anonymous note to their coach, explaining where they were. The coach took off immediately, leaving his team to play without his advice.

Down on the court, a fierce battle was being fought. Ax had increased their lead, and wasn't tiring. He'd taken penalty shots -- not all of the opposition played fair -- and still had a perfect record.

Ax raced beside a tall, ginger haired boy. He reached out to steal the ball. Sweat trickled into his eyes, momentarily blinding him. He stumbled, and the person on the opposing team, dribbling the ball, couldn't stop fast enough and rammed him from behind. They both overbalanced, the other boy putting out his hands to try and break his fall. One finger caught in the string of the necklace that Ax was wearing, and tore it away.

Ax sat, winded, on the floor, watching the melon seeds bounce freely on the hardwood floor. Something nagged at his mind, hadn't he seen this before? The other boy got to his feet and offered him a hand. "Sorry about that, man. You okay?"

In the stands, Marco, who was watching in horror, said urgently to Jake, "That guy is gonna get it, what with Ax's temper on a hair trigger and all. I just hope Ax doesn't punch him or anything, he'll get thrown out of the game!" he proceeded to gaze at the scene with disbelief building up as Ax took the proffered hand and got to his feet.

Down below, Ax suddenly felt very drained. The tide of adrenaline he had been riding throughout the game has receded. He took the guy's hand and pulled himself to his feet. Something told him that he should be really pissed off about the necklace, but he only felt a little sad, nothing more. Where was the anger and frustration that had seethed during the past week and a half?

A little shakily, he took the ball for the penalty shot. James, his voice thick with jealousy, sneered, "Don't choke."

Ax glared at him before tossing the ball confidently through the air.

It hit the hoop squarely, hard enough to produce a ringing sound like a gong -- and bounced off. James snickered. Ax whirled, to punch his grinning mug… and didn't. He couldn't even summon the energy to lift his hand.

James, seeing the expression on his face and finding genuine sympathy, said, "You okay, man? I mean, no big deal, right? You've missed before."

"Yes," said Ax, just letting the words speak themselves. "I'm fine."

Three minutes later, Ax got another chance at a shot. It was a crazy angle, but he took it anyway.

It dropped through the hoop without touching the rim. The bleachers, at first stunned with the lapse of the Talent, erupted in screams and war whoops.

They won, 56-20. The away team trooped back to their homes in defeat, and, in the case of Ax's attackers, considerable pain. Ax didn't care. His head felt really clear as Cyril, beaming widely, presented him and James with the miniature trophy (they'd won it for the game, duh!) and said "You done me proud, kid."

Ax let James keep it. He bowed a bit for the thanks, and during the first part of the celebrations, slipped out of the gym to find the rest of the Animorphs.

===========================================

There's only one more chapter to go. To all my readers who have supported me beyond the ending of the Animorphs series (Damn K.A!) THANKS!


	10. The Year Continues

****

Chapter Ten ~ The Year Continues

"Oh, and if I forgot to tell you guys before, I'm really sorry."

Marco sat up abruptly, slamming his forehead into the rafter. When the (exaggerated) groans stopped, he complained, "Ax, you've said that, oh, I stopped counting after the six hundredth time, in the last week. Enough! We understand! And we forgive you! That's what friends are for, right?"

Seven teenagers were reclining on the freshly-delivered pillar of hay in Cassie's barn. Unlike other stacks, this reached nearly up to the ceiling. Jake and Cassie were side by side, holding hands. So were Tobias and Rachel. Erek, Ax and Marco were between the couples.

"You guys are really sickening, you know?" Marco continued. "All lovey-dovey. If the rest of us weren't here you'd probably be removing each other's tonsils already."

"Marco," Rachel said amiably, "There's not much stopping me from throwing you off, is there?"

Erek unexpectedly interrupted, "Guys, ssh. This is quiet time."

"Quiet time? Whoever thought that phrase up?" Jake asked rhetorically.

"Well, actually, it originated because…"

There were protests from the others. "Erek, stop! We've had enough of history," said Rachel. "I think I failed the quiz he gave us today."

"You?" Cassie looked astonished. "Fail?"

"Rachel? Fail?" Ax mocked. "Do I suck at basketball?"

Laughter. 

Marco pointed out, "You got the talent from ME, of course. Super strength of whatever from the evil shark tooth, but talent? Completely natural! Genetics, man."

Rachel coughed. It sounded suspiciously like "Bullshit!"

Jake was still pensive, and serious. "You're sure the necklace is destroyed? And no-one linked it to you?"

"If it had, we wouldn't be here now, wondering…"

"I had a dream," Tobias said.

"Isn't it 'I HAVE a dream'?" Marco queried.

"An Ellimist dream, Marco, not a Nelson Mandela speech."

"Oh. Well, I knew that."

"And?" prompted Cassie.

"I saw… the necklace being swept up by the janitor after the game. And into the trash compactor. Ellimist was very smug. He said Crayak would not be able to get it back."

"That's a load off my mind," Ax sighed.

"The sun's set," Erek pointed out, "We should all be getting home."

Murmured assent. They were all too comfortable to seriously think of moving.

"And Tobias only has seven of your minutes left in this morph," Ax pointed out.

That got a reaction. Marco sat up again, rubbed his smarting forehead, again, and cursed the beam, again. Then he remembered what he'd wanted to say. "They're everyone's minutes, Ax. Yours and mine. You're on Earth now. You're human. They're your damn minutes too!"

Ax was smirking. "Am I?"

"Are you what?"

"Human?"

"Yes!" Marco screeched impatiently. 

Cassie said, more carefully, "Yes, I do think so, Ax."

"I can't remember, what it was like, to be…" his voice faded. Tobias disengaged himself from Rachel and patted Ax lightly on the shoulder.

"You haven't forgotten, Ax-man. You've got it stored away somewhere in that super-brain of yours, like the timekeeping ability and basketball talent."

Ax smiled. "Tobias, don't you think you should demorph? You only have five and a half minutes left."

Marco exalted, "By George, he's got it!!"

"Five of your minutes left, that is," Ax amended.

"We really all should be moving," Jake commanded, cutting short Marco's tirade.

They morphed, Tobias back into red-tail, Jake, Cassie, Rachel, and Marco into lizards who could scurry vertically down the stack. Ax and Erek simply rolled off, landing on the strategically placed bale of hay many metres below.

Seven teenagers exited from the barn and walked down their separate paths. Tobias took flight, calling back, The first star. Make a wish, Ax-man.

Ax paused at the edge of Cassie's compound and looked up. Sure enough, one lone star glowed enduringly in the opaque sky.

He thought about all they had been through, and all that had resulted from his desire to go to school. It had trapped him in this form.

No, it went back further than that, it traced its origins from when he strode proudly onto the Dome Ship alongside his brother. That was the turning point. 

If he could go back, change the way things were, would he? He'd want to have come to Earth, he knew, but not to be trapped? If he was given that option, would he go back and change it? He looked at the star.

__

I wish...

__

No, I wouldn't, he decided. _It has come to this. I have to go on from here._

Erek turned and looked at him. "You coming, Ax?"

Ax stared at the star. Didn't he want to be an Andalite again? He could cope. Tobias had. And the humans… he had come to think of himself as one, even before he'd been trapped. Perhaps, at heart, that was his destiny.

Ax thought of his friends, the humans. He remembered his friends on the Home World… not like these. The Animorphs, they'd all been through hell together. In fact, they seemed to take the weekly flight to Hell and back. By now they should have enough flyer miles for a trip to Heaven, at least. He'd settle for less. Life, in any form. That was a blessing, and not one to take for granted. You came to realise that, living, and battling for your entire species. Existing on the edge of a knife. Slip, and there would be no recovery of balance. You'd fall.

Ax pictured his true friends. Jake, his prince. Rachel, the enthusiastic Amazon queen. Cassie, the gentle one, forced into the war. Marco and Tobias, who had made sacrifices as profound as his. And now Erek.

Erek, patiently standing by the gate, held it open and looked back. "You coming, Ax?" he repeated.

__

I wish...

Ax tore his gaze from the star, turned to face Erek. "Yeah," he said. "I'm coming."

THEND.

=======================================

And that's that.

Thank you to everyone who ever reviewed this story, it was nice to know people do read it!

Deep gratitude to Portalkeeper87 and AniWriter … you two are my best "fans"! Couldn't have done it without you guys. Kudos.

Well, yeah. This is the END. Keep rocking all, now and forever!!

--Sera


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